Jinju's Chokseongnu Pavilion, Nam River area to be named scenic heritage site

The Chokseongnu Pavilion and Nam River area in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, one of the city's most prominent historic scenic sites, will be designated a state scenic heritage site.

South Gyeongsang Province said Wednesday that the Cultural Heritage Administration has announced plans to designate 66,457.6 square meters across three lots in Bonseong-dong, Jinju, as a scenic heritage site under the category of historical and cultural landscape. The zone slated for designation encompasses the Nam River's water surface and natural rock cliffs, along with Chokseongnu Pavilion and its fortress walls sitting atop them, and Uiam rock along the waterside. All three lots are state-owned land — one classified as building site and two as riverbed — with no private land included within the designated zone.

The area has served as a center of scholarly and cultural gatherings since the Goryeo and Joseon periods, carrying on a long tradition of pavilion culture. In peacetime, it was a place to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Nam River and served as a site for state civil service examinations; in wartime, it functioned as a military command post as the southern watchtower of Jinjuseong Fortress.

The site was particularly praised for the layered history it holds — as the scene of the first and second battles of Jinjuseong Fortress during the Imjin War, and as the place associated with the patriotic sacrifice of Nongae — combining natural scenery with a deep record of national defense history. Extensive documentary records, including Ha Ryun's "Jinju Chokseongnu-gi" and entries in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, further support its academic value.

This scenic heritage designation concerns a spatial and landscape review focused on natural heritage. This designation runs on a separate track from the long-standing local push to elevate Chokseongnu Pavilion itself — now a provincial tangible cultural heritage — to state-designated treasure status. That effort falls under an entirely different subcommittee.

The Cultural Heritage Administration will collect opinions from various sectors for 30 days starting Wednesday. It then plans to finalize the designation following a final review and public notice by the geology, scenic sites and landscaping subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Committee.

"This designation is a review of natural heritage centered on the spatial landscape in harmony with the Nam River," a South Gyeongsang Province official said. "It has no direct connection to the separate review on elevating Chokseongnu Pavilion, which centers on the building itself, to treasure status, as the two fall under different review subcommittees."